What I'm reading now:
Griftopia
By Matt Taibbi Not for the faint-of-heart. This book looks into the role of the financial industry in the recent economic meltdown. Mr. Taibbi writes for Rolling Stone so he's not an industry insider. This makes the language, though rather coarse in some places, approachable by the lay reader (that's you and me). Now I know what a "credit default swap" is. You should too.

What I've read recently:
You Are Not A Gadget
By Jaron Lanier
Mrs. St. Johns's class was reading this one and she lent me a copy. Certainly food for thought although I think he makes a rather tenuous equation between people and software and then bases quite a bit on that relationship. Not one of my more favored reads..
Crab Wars
By William Sargent
Here's another suggestion from Mr. Paskell. I never thought about how important horse shoe crabs were. Basically, anyone whose been poked by a needle in the doctor's office has been on the recieving end of the benefits of these ancient decapodans. Who'd a thunk?

Every Living ThingBy Rob Dunn
This one came from Mr. Paskell, a most excellent student-teacher that I worked with Spring '09. It gives a fabulous recounting of many of the pioneers of biology and taxonomy whom we briefly talk about in class. I always like hearing the back-story of some of those characters, Leeuwanhoek, Darwin, and the like. Interesting lives they led.

The Geography of BlissBy Eric Weiner
Here's another suggestion from Miss Law. Mr. Weiner is kind of a grump and I guess I am as well. Maybe that's why Miss Law gave it to me to read. Mr. Weiner travels around the world investigating the nature of happiness from country to country and culture to culture. Far more intriguing than I thought it would be. I am a grump.

The Omnivore's Dilemma By
Michael Pollan I absolutely love Mr. Pollan's writting. He really
gets you to think about the food we put into our bodies and how the culture of
producing and consuming that food has changed. If you liked Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, you'll
love this one.

Born Standing Up By
Steve Martin I needed some light reading. My fiance had bought
this one for her aunt and I ended up reading it before it was wrapped as a gift.
Not uproariously funny but interesting to read up on the development of a "wild
and crazy guy".

This Is Your Brain On
Music By
David Levitin Mr. Finch, the middle school band director, told me about
this one. A short, understandable introduction to music theory makes up the
first few chapters. Later chapters deal with how our brains actually perceive
and process musical information. Great for anyone who thinks about how they
think.

Books by/about women in science:Women often offer a different approach to
problems and issues. Science is all about the non-biased, multi-perspective study of
phenomena. We need more women scientists.

WoodswomanBy
Anne Labastille Another of Ms. Law's reading suggestions. An
autobiographical account of how Dr. Labastille builds and lives in a remote
cabin in the Adirondack bush. Written in the late 70's, it is rife with robust
anthropomorphisms and anthropocentrisms I would not expect from a contemporary
ecologist. It does make me want to head into the wilderness though.

Silent Spring
By Rachel Carson A
classic in nature literature, this book was written in the late 50's-early 60's
so some of the technical material is dated but, this book opened the eyes of a
generation to what was (is) happening to the ecosystem around us.

A Feeling For The Organism:
The Life of Barbara McClintockBy
Evelyn Fox Keller There just
aren't enough women in science. Ms. McClintock is responsible for describing
much of what we know about modern genetics. Click here for more info on
Barbara McClintock.

Rosalind Franklin and DNABy Anne
SayreI
have to admit, I have not read this one. Although I have studied Ms.
Franklin's contributions to the development of the discovery of the structure of
the DNA molecule, I am shamefully unaware of details of her life. This one is
on my (very long) "to read" list.

Other fabulous books:Jayber CrowBy
Wendell Berry I've read some of Mr. Berry's essays. This is my
first of his novels. It tells the story of a small town barber in rural
Kentucky. My housemate, Leigh, loves Wendell Berry but she's from Kentucky.

The Glass Castle By Jeannette Walls If you think you've had it bad, read this book. It is
horrifying and uplifting. I was assigned this book for a graduate class but
didn't end up having to read it. I finished it anyway.

The Shame of the Nation By Jonathan KozolAnother in a growing list of Kozol books on racial
issues in inner-city schools. His writing style is smooth and enjoyable but the
topic is maddening. Yep, I had to read this for a graduate class.

Life of PiBy
Yann Martel Several of my friends have been reading this one and
suggested it to me. An interesting tale of an Indian man who finds himself
adrift in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. It is an interesting read,
especially the twist at the end. I won't let the Bengal tiger out of the bag
but, the whole force of the book as a work of fiction stabs through with
a brief, single paragraph towards the end. Beautiful.

The Education of a
WASPBy
Lois Mark Stalvey I read this one for a class in racism and sexism.
It is an autobiographical journey of a classic, white, Anglo-Saxon protestant as
her eyes are opened to the issues she thought no longer existed. She is made
painfully aware that her world has been an insulated from the realities of
racism, sexism and several other "-isms".

In Cold BloodBy
Truman Capote A classic, American writer, this is the book that put
Truman Capote in the spotlight. This non-fiction novel describes the mass
murder of a family in rural Kansas. If you're looking for splatter-gore writing,
however, this is not it.

The Portable Henry
RollinsBy
Henry Rollins If you are looking for a positive message, go
somewhere else. This is most certainly not it. It is however a real and
heartfelt collection of journal entries, short stories and poetry. I grew up listening to this
guy shred with Black Flag and then Rollins Band. He is now almost better known
for his spoken word stuff. Very heavy; very powerful.

Freakonomics By
Steven Levitt and Stephan DubnerAn
amazingly insightful breakdown of some of the numbers involved in society and
the decisions we make. The economic equivalent of the old "flap of the butterfly
wing on one continent causing a hurricane on another" thing. Eyebrow lifting and
chock full of cool conversation pieces.

The Third ChimpanzeeBy
Jared Diamond Another work of geological proportions. As with his other
book Guns, Germs and Steel, This one examines the evolution and origins of
language and art as properties of humans. Once again, not an easy read but the
material is impeccably researched and wonderfully written. Dense and absolutely
fabulous.

The Secret Lives of
LobstersBy Trevor Corson This one
was fun...really. Not just because I'm a biology nerd. A journalist "embeds"
himself in with lobster fishermen as they prove their ability to conserve as
well as sustainably harvest their quarry .

Surviving The
ExtremesBy
Kenneth Kamler M.D. If you ever wondered what is going on in the body
when a person pushes themselves in extreme environments. A fabulous trip through
human physiology and adventure. You may second guess that career as an astronaut
after reading this one. Very cool.

The Agile GeneBy
Matt Ridley I learned more about genetics in the first one hundred pages
of this book than in 6 years of college. It includes some of the latest findings
in genetics. I found the material actually easier to digest than the previous
book by Matt Ridley (see below).

**A
Short History Of Nearly EverythingBy Bill Bryson Have
you ever wondered how scientists know what they know or even what they know? Mr.
Bryson, though not a science academic, wrote this book to deal with both of
these questions and, consequently, has produced this book which is chock full o'
scientific explanation that you don't need a degree to understand. Plus, he's a
funny guy. He touches on everything from the origins of the universe to the
origin of Homo sapiens. This is a good one for any curious mind. Check
out A Walk In The Woods; another one
of his books on the list.

The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara KingsolverThis is quite possibly the greatest book I have ever read. It's certainly up
there on the list. A great book written in the voices of the four daughters and
wife of a southern Baptist missionary as they move to the Belgian Congo during
their "independence" movement

Watership DownBy Richard Adams
I don't often read books more than once. This book is exceptional in all cases.
I remember the day I finished it for the first time in perfect detail. It's that
good. Don't even bother with the cartoon movie from Disney.

The Blind WatchmakerBy Richard DawkinsMr. Dawkins also wrote
"The Selfish Gene" which I admittedly have not read yet. This book deals with
the process of evolution and the evidence of a universe without design. Not easy
reading but very informative.

NeuromancerBy William Gibson If you're into scifi,
I cannot recommend this book enough. Its's relationship to the realities of
cyberspace given when it was written is uncanny. Very cool book. Read his other
stuff too.

The
Real Frank Zappa BookBy Frank Zappa with
Peter Occhiogrosso Mere words cannot
convey the respect I have for Frank Zappa musically and otherwise. Do yourself a
favor and listen to a variety of his music (especially Hot Rats, my
favorite) and find out about his life. He is even more interesting than the lame
rumors about his weirdness.

IshmaelBy
Daniel Quinn I cannot
recommend this book strongly enough. This is one of the most insightful books on
our present ecological condition from a very different perspective. PLEASE READ
THIS BOOK!!!

Encounters With An Archdruid
By John McPhee This book is
actually three stories.
David Brower, one of the most militant conservationist in the world, takes three
different men on three different wilderness adventures. The interesting part is
that each of the three men are users and abusers of the environment. Staunch
environmentalist meets staunch anti-environmentalist. Interesting stuff. No,
they don't beat each other up.

The Naked
Ape
By Desmond Morris An objective
zoological assessment of Homo sapiens sapiens. This book tries to
describe humans as an alien from another planet would do.

How They
Do It
By Robert A. Wallace Anyone who has
had me for the Reproduction and Development mini-course might be interested in
where I get my information on the bizarre reproductive strategies of other
organisms. This is one of my primary resources.

New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish
Grandmothers
By Robert Desowitz A very
understandable book about parasites and parasitic diseases. A whole chapter on
poop! Very cool.

A Walk In The WoodsBy
Bill Bryson This is a great
book about a couple non-athletic dudes who try to hike the 2160-mile Appalachian
Trail. Hilarious and meaningful.

Rule Of The BoneBy
Russell Banks Not a science
oriented book. Its about a young boy growing up under adverse conditions in
upstate New York. Follows his coming of age. A great read!

The Monkey-wrench GangBy Edward Abbey The chronicles
of a group of "eco-terrorists" who take protection of the desert environ to the
extreme by sabotaging development projects, blowing up bridges (without people
on them. They don't kill people). Edward Abbey is known for his interesting and
often insightful (incite-ful?) sayings.
Here's a few of 'em.

The River WhyBy David James Duncan Anyone who has
gone fishing will appreciate this one, although you don't have to be an angler
to get a kick out of this one. The fictional autobiography of a devout
fly-fisherman. Hilarious.

Animal Dreams
By Barbara KingsolverThis novel is about a young woman who returns to her home town in New Mexico
to find a new career as, of all things, a biology teacher. She ends up doing a
lot of soul searching too.

Driving Mr. Albert:A Trip Across America
with Einstein's BrainBy
Michael Paterniti
This story is actually true! It seems that when Albert Einstein was autopsied,
the pathologist, Dr Thomas Harvey, removed Mr. Einstein's brain and just took
it. This is the account of the author driving Dr. Harvey from New Jersey to
California to bring the brain to Einstein's grand-daughter. Read this one, and
you'll learn about more than Einstein's brain!

A
Primate's Memoir: A
Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the BaboonsBy Robert SopalskyTwo themes in this
one. Field studies with baboons in Kenya and Dr. Sopalsky's travels around east
Africa. Very humorous and informative.

The
Jungle BooksBy Rudyard KiplingOften listed as a single story, this is actually a collection of
short stories about Mowgli, a boy raised in and by the jungles of India. I was
lucky to find an old edition of this one with the original illustrations. I am a
huge fan of the Disney film (the original cartoon) and was glad to see how
closely the film follows the short stories.

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American MealBy
Eric SchlosserDon't get me wrong. I eat at Wendy's every once in a
while but, you should be an informed eater. This is kinda scary stuff.
Knowledge is power.